The Redstone Demon

Chapter 2

Max glowered as the nurse led him out of the room he'd been being treated in. His cuts had been covered with various bandages, the one on his arm, which was worse than the rest, having been stitched up.

No one had listened as he insisted that there had been some sort of monster in the forest, humanoid, but with glowing red eyes, like stained glass that sunlight was shining through. The sheriff had scoffed at him, sending him to the hospital so his wounds and 'delusions' could be treated, and the doctor and nurse had given him patient, concerned looks as they listened to his story, before the doctor prescribed an antipsychotic that Max planned on getting rid of as soon as he had left the building.

In the lobby, the nurse looked around, his eyes landing on a man that couldn't be more than a few years younger than Max, probably around nineteen or twenty.

"Ross!" The man glanced around, before blinking at the nurse and Max, the former of which was motioning for him to join them.

The man, Ross, presumably, cautiously headed over. "Yes?" He said.

Ross was wearing a light grey and white hoodie, with a face on the hood, with cross eyes that faced outwards, a mouth with the tongue sticking out derpily, and a white horn poking out above the eyes. His pants were grey sweatpants, and, honestly, it looked kind of like he was wearing very neat pajamas with the two clothes items paired up. His hair was a messy light brown, and his eyes, behind his glasses, were a clear, crystal blue. They eyed Max as though he was the strangest thing Ross had ever seen.

"Ross, this is Max. He's new in town." The nurse motioned between them. "Max, this is Ross. Ross, would you be kind enough show Max around town?"

Ross nervously bit his lip, but nodded, glancing at Max again. Max, however, frowned. "I don't need anyone to show me around." He growled, irritated. "I can figure it out myself." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, scowling at the other man, who was shrinking back into his hoodie, clearly intimidated. In the back of his mind, Max felt a little bad for scaring him, but he couldn't be completely sorry, when everyone he'd met in this weird town had insisted he was insane. Ross was highly unlikely to be any different.

"Well, let Ross show you to the motel, at least." The nurse didn't seem at all scared of him, to Max's disappointment. "It's on the other side of town, and it'll just be easier if he shows you where it is. We don't have a big town here, but it's not hard to get lost if you aren't familiar with the roads."

Max pursed his lips, but gave a small, sharp nod. "Fine." He relented, through clenched teeth. "Whatever."

He followed the nervous man out of the hospital and into the street. Neither of them spoke until they had left the parking lot. "So," Ross was the one that broke the silence. "Where are you from?" He questioned, sounding honestly curious. When Max raised an eyebrow at him, Ross pulled back into his shell. "Sorry, I was just wondering, 'cause I've, um, I've never left town. Not even for a day."

"Seriously?" Max frowned. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen, going on twenty." Ross shrugged, looking a little less nervous, but not much. "My parents don't want me going anywhere, not since my cousin ran away instead of going to college." He said, sounding remorseful. "And before that, I just didn't have a reason to leave, or a driver's license."

Max felt his eyes widen, but tried to force his expression to turn nonchalant. "Why'd they run?"

Ross shrugged. "I dunno." He didn't meet Max's eyes as he said it, but the other man didn't pry. It was probably pretty personal. "So, um, where are you from?"

"Louisiana." Max said shortly. "What's up with the sun here?" He asked, blinking up at the bright red orb that hovered above the town. "Is that the sun? I can't tell."

Ross gave him a confused look. "Of course that's the sun. What other sun is there?" He questioned, blinking up at the orb himself. "Just the Red Sun that Never Sets." His voice took on a tone like he was repeating something he'd heard his whole life, and he just took as fact. "The sun is why the town is called Redstone." He informed Max, who shivered.

Now that he thought about it, the whole town was washed in an eerie red light. And, he noted, all of the rocks he looked at looked identical to the eyes of the, the thing that had attacked him the night before. He stumbled away from his guide, who watched him, confused, until he leaned over a trashcan and puked, emptying the contents of his stomach.

"Are you alright?" Ross asked tentatively, as he approached him. Max just shook his head, feeling like he was going to pass out. "Here, let me help you." Ross leaned down and draped Max's arm over his shoulders, helping to support him as they kept walking.

After a minute or two, Max pulled away and started walking, shakily, on his own. "I'm fine." He mumbled, pulling his hat off to run a hand through his hair.

Ross gave him a concerned look. "Um, sorry if I sound nosy, but, uh, I heard someone say you got attacked by a mountain lion or something?" He fiddled with the end of his sweater. "And you thought it had red eyes? Maybe it was just the light from the sun?" When Max gave him a suspicious look, Ross hurriedly held up his hands in front of him, defensively. "Not many new people show up in town. Like, ever. So word kinda travelled fast. Sorry."

Max kept eyeing him mistrustfully, but decided to answer the younger man anyway. Something about his expression made Max think that Ross was earnestly trying to be helpful, and maybe didn't even think he was crazy. Max almost felt bad disappointing him. "Couldn't have been the sunlight," he muttered, kicking at one of the red rocks lying on the sidewalk angrily. "It was night."

Ross blinked at him. "It was what?"

"Night."

"What's that?"

Max gave Ross a look, dumbfounded. Ross had an innocently curious look on his face, with no deception that Max could make out. "Night. When the sun goes down, and everything gets dark."

As he said that, Ross' eyes widened, and he gaped at Max. "The sun goes down?" He shuddered. "That sounds awful. How are you supposed to see?"

Max looked around, wondering if he was having an elaborate prank pulled on him. There was practically no one else around, presumably because it was around noon, and most people were at work. There was a pair of kids running down the opposite sidewalk, followed by a woman pushing a stroller, but they didn't even spare him a glance, just racing on to the park. His gaze settled back on Ross. "You're kidding me, right?" He asked, brow pulling together. Ross didn't look like he was joking. He looked honestly terrified at the thought of the sun going down. "Look, I dunno what that thing in the sky is," Ross shifted uncomfortably, giving the 'sun' a worried glance. "But there's nowhere in the world where the sun never sets. Even at the poles, it sets during winter. So stop trying to play such a dumb prank."

Ross glanced up at the orb again, shivering, despite the sun and his hoodie. "Look, I dunno what you're talking about," he whispered, glancing at the woman and children to make sure they were out of earshot. "But I suggest you don't go around saying things like that. You're bound to get in trouble if you do." Then, the nineteen year old pulled back, turning, and started to walk hurriedly down the sidewalk. "C'mon!" He called back, like their conversation hadn't taken such a bizarre turn. "The motel's just one more street over."

Max went after him, confused and, to be perfectly honest, slightly frightened. Nothing about this town made sense, and everywhere he looked, it felt like sinister red eyes were watching him as he followed Ross to the motel.